Improvement in lamps



R, 's. MERRILL.

Lamp I No. 107,278. Patented Sept. 13, 1870.

'out of position.

' into effect, by reference to the accompanying drawing,

I same.

dished san patent define.

RUFUS S. MERRILL, 0F BOSTON.,MASSAOHUSETTS, ASSIGN OR TO HIMSELF JOSHUA MERRILL, AND WILLIAM B. MERRILL, OF SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 107,278, dated September-'13, 1870. v

IMPROVEMENT IN LAMPS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the Same- To whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RUFUS S..Mnnu1nn, of Boston, in the county of Suifolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented newand useful Improvementsin Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relatesto Argand or round-wick burners, in whichthe removable portion of the burner is supported upon the wick-tube or a tube surrounding the same, and is so arranged as by its rotation to effect the raising or lowering of the wiclo This arrangement is well understood by lrunp-manufacturers, and needs 'no further description.

As the movable portion of the burner which is thus usedto raise or lower the wick rests simply by its gravity upon its supporting tube, and is not held down thereon, nor prevented from rotating thereon, by any positive fastening, .it consequently happens, whcn the lamp is used in any place when it is shaken or jarred for any length of time, for instance, in a railway car, that the shaking or jarring to which the lamp is subjected, will cause the removable part of the burner to rotate, so as to gradually lower the wick, and thus decrease or even entirely extinguish the light; and'at' times, upon any violent movement, this portion of the burner is liable also to be moved upward and thrown My invention is intended to remove these ditl'icul-' ties, and to this end it consists-- First, in combining with the said removable portion of theburner, aspring fastening or other stop cngag ing with said portion of the burner in such manner as' to prevent any upward movement of tho same upon its supporting tube.

' Second, in combining with the said removable portion of the burner a spring fastening or other stop which ongages with said portion of the burner, so as to prevent the. same from rotating upon its supporting tube until the fastening or stop is withdrawn.

Third, in the combination, with the said removable portion of the burner, of a stop or fastening, constructed substantially as hereinafter described, so as to prevent both the upward movement and the rotation of said portion of the burner upon its supporting tube.

To enable others skilled in the art .to'nnderstand and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe the manner in which the same is or may be carried in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a lamp made in accordance with my invention.

f Figure 2 represents a vertical central section of the The lamp-body or reservoir A is of any suitable shape and construction, and is provided with tubes for producing the internal draught, and forsupportin g the wick, as is common in Argand lamps.

The removable part of the burner, consisting of the chimney, gallery,., spring, &c., is represented at B.

This removable part is provided with a sleeve, (1, which fits and rests upon a supporting tube, b, surrounding the wick-tube, and is arranged to engage with the wick-raising tube or device, so that the ro-. tation of said portion of the burner willcausc the In the present instance, the fastening device consists of a spring, 0, on'ecnd of which is made fast to the lamp, whilc the other and free end extends toward the. burner.

The latter end of the spring has affixedto it a notched locking piece, the lower portion, d, of which engages with a seriesof notches or teeth, '1, arranged around the lower part of the removable burner.

.The upper part h of the locking piece projects beyond the lower part (I, and is pressed. by the spring 0,

so as to extend over the flange or projecting rim upon 7 which the notches fare formed.

The spring also presses up the detent (I, so as to cause it to engage with which ever one of the notches f is opposite to it.

The spring moves back and forth under a holding piece, 1', which prevents it, and the lockingv device which it carries, from having any upward movement.

The upper edge of the locking piece his beveled, so that when the burner is slipped on its supporting tube it will'bccnabled to press back the spring until thelockingpiece clears the rim of the burner. The spring will then be released, and will throw forward the locking piece, so that the part cl willengage with one of the notches f, and the part It will lap over the rim or flange of the burner, thus preventing the latter from having any rotary or upward movement.

By pressing on the thumb-piece k, the spring can be forced back. so as to disengage the ocking-piece from the burner, and allow the wick to be raised or lowered. When this is done, the spring is released, and will throw forward the locking piece into its normal position. r

In the arrangement just described, the fastening device has two oflices; it arrests the rotation of the burner and prevents its vertical movement but it is manifest that the step d is not-necessary in case it is desired to prevent vertical movements only of the from burner, while, on the other hand, if the object is simply to prevent the burner from rotating upon its supporting tube, the stop (Z alone is snfiieient, and the other stop, 71, can be dispensed with. Either stop,

- therefore, may be used without the other, although Lmuch prefer the use of the two conjointly.

It is also manifest that the particular means by which the locking-device is forced up to the burner may be greatly varied without departure from the principle of my invention. For instance, the locking device, instead of being upon the' end of a spring,

such as shown, may be formed on attached to a bolt or pin, arranged radially upon the top of the lamp, and so as to slide toward oraway from the burner, being forced up into contact therewith by means of a sprin v Many other modifications will readily suggest themselves, all that is necessary being that the locking de- What I claim, and desire to secure ivy-Letters Patcut, is--- 1: In an Argand or round-wick lamp, in which the removable portion of the bnrner, nsed to efl'eet the .adjustment of the wick, fits, and is supported upon a tube surrounding the wick-tube, the combination, with the said portion of the burner, of a spring locking-tie vice engaging with the same, substantiallyas described, so as to prevent any upward movement of said 501- tion of the burner upon its supporting tube.

2. In a lampsuch as specified, the combination, with said removable portion of the burner, of a spring locking device for preventing the rotation of. said portion of the burner upon its supporting tube, substantially as herein shown and set forth. r 3. A spring locking-device, constructed and combined with the said removable portion of the burner, substantially in the manner shown and described, so as to prevent both the upward movement and the rotation of said'portion of the burner uponjts supporting tube.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification before two subscribing witnesses.

' RUFUS S. MERRILL. Witnesses:

Eon. F. Bnowx, M. BATLEY.' 

